Roller mill used for manufacturing sugar



May 6, 1930. J HSHER 1,757,903

ROLLER MILL USED FOR MANUFACTURING SUGAR Filed May 27. 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR BY Fisher A TTORNE YS'.

May 6,1930. J. FISHER 1,757,903 I ROLLER MILL USED FOR MANUFACTURING SUGAR Filed May 27. 1926 s Sheets-Sheet 2 T IIYVENTOR James- Fps'her A TTORNE Y6.

'm 6, 1930. J. FISH R 1,757,903

ROLLER MILL USED FOR MANUFACTURING SUGAR Filed May 27, 1926 v 3 Sheets-Sheet I5 IN VEN TOR BY Fpflwr www.- AM

A TTORNEKS Patented May 6, 1930 UNITED STAT JAMES FISHER, on NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA ROLLER MILL USED FOR MANUFACTURING SUGAR Applicationifiled May 27,

My present invention relates to improvements in oller mi s used n the manufactu e of sugar, and is intended to provide a more efficient, more compact and cheaper construc- 3; tion than is now generally used in extracting juice from sugar cancer sorghum or the likehe manufactu e o sugar from sugar cane, the m st common practiceis to pass the cane stalks through a pair of rollers known s Crushers, hich rollers are usually proid d with. roughened surfaces, either of: zigzag, fluted or other construction, an after extracting part of the juice from the crusher, which is carried oil in the usual way, the crushed cane stalks are then fed to one or more three-roller mills, and with larger factories or centrals, it is quite common to em-,

ploy as many as twelverollers, arranged in pyramidal form, one behind the other, in groups of three each, or four crushing mills,

in addition to the crusher referred to.

As is well known in the art, each thrceroller mill subjects the crushed stalks or huge-See to two separate.v crushings respectively between the upper and front rollers of each mill, and then between the top and backrollers or each mill, the bagasse being directed in the proper direction by the rotation of the rollers and by the usual well E0 known turn plate.

According to my present invention, I place an upper roller above the top roller of a threerollor mill and parallel therewith, thus con.- stituting a tour-roller mill, which, as will be hereinafter explained, will give three separate crushings for each four-roller mill. For instance, for three four-roller mills, nine crushings will be secured,whereas for the usual twelverollermills arranged in groups of three rollers, only eight crushings would be.

had, and not only is the advantage of increased: crushings secured,but also there is a decided saving in cost of construction, simplicity of driving, compactness of arrangementand reduced floor space, and other ad vantages, which willbe hereinafter .more

fully described. a

To simplify the cost of this construction,-

I have designed a. compact housing for each four roller mill, comprising four symmetrical.

1926. semi m5. 11 2,oes.

housing plates arranged in pairs oppositely disposed, that is two at each end of the mill.

In these housing plates the rollers are our nailed, the hydraulics mounted, and means are provided for holding the bolts, which sec ure the mill caps in place.

My invention may be used in connection with a crusher and in a series of mills, or it may be used singly ina single four-roller mill, and the size of the rollers may be varied according to requirements, for instance, being madesmall for small syrup mills or large for heavy grindingpurposes.

As will be explained the mill may be arranged on a level platform or set at an angle with the horizontal.

lvlfy invention will be more fully understood, aftcr reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a diagrammatic view showing two of my improved foureroller millsmounted for use in connection with a crusher, parts of the apparatus, such as the troughs for car ryingaway the juice or the like, being omitted for thesake oi' clcarness in the drawings;

Fig. 2 shows a front elevation, showing a four-roller mill constructed according to my invention. This mill is seen from the opposite side of the mill shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the mill shown in Fig. 2, as seen from the left of said figure, the mill caps for the lower roller being omitted, to show the parts beneath same.

Fig. d shows a four-roller mill set at an incline, with the front housings omitted, so as to show the parts in the rear of same, parts of the apparatus being shown in section.

Fig. 5 is a detail View showing in elevation a pair of the oppositely disposed housing plates, which are used at each end of the mill; and

i Fig. 6 shows an inverted plan view of the two plates illustrated in Fig 5.

Referring first to the diagrammatic view shown in. Fig. 1, A represents the chute lead: ing fromcthe cane carrier (not shown), from 1 which the cane stalks are fed to the crusher rolls B and B. These rotate in the direction indicated bythe arrows and are driven in the usual way. The partly crushed stalks from for tying the plates together.

the crusher pass the scraper G into the chute D, along which they are pushed by the conveyor E in the direction of the arrows. The partly crushed stalks, after passing through the chute D, are delivered into the chute F and are fed to the first four-roller mill, where G represents the top roller, H, the middle roller, I, the front roller and J, the back roller. These rollers revolve in the direction of the arrows, and the bagasse, after the first crushing, is deflected by the curved deflector N into the space between the rollers H and I, where it is subjected to a second crushing in the same mill, and the juice flows down in the usual way, the bagasse being directed by the turn plate 0 to the space between the rollers H and J, where the bagasse is subjected to a third crushing. Part of the juice falls from the the mill in the usual juice box, and part is carried off by the deflector L into the trough M, and is carried to the juice tank in the usual way.

Thus, it will be seen that after the preliminary crushing by the crusher, the partly crushed material is subjected to three additional crushings in the first mill.

After leaving the first mill, the bagasse is directed by the scraper P to the trough Q, up which it is pushed by the conveyor R, and it falls through the chute S to the chute S, and it is delivered to the second mill, where it is subjected to three more crushings, that is, the first between the rollers G and H the second, between the rollers H and I; and the third between the rollers I and J.

Obviously, the number of four-roller mills might be increased indefinitely, but with the six crushings already shown, and the additional preliminary crushing by the crusher, no further crushings would be ordinarily required, and the bagasse may be carried off to the bagasse furnace or to a suitable receptacle for use in the manufacture of celotex, paper or the like. by the carrier Q and conveyor R.

lVhile I have shown two four-roller mills connected to a crusher, a single four-roller mill may be used, if desired, or three or more may be used with or without a crusher, and I have shown the details of such a four-roller mill mounted on a horizontal foundation in F igs. 2 and 3, and on an inclined foundation in Fig. 4, and I have shown details of the housing in Figs. 5 and 6.

Referring now especially to Figs. 2, 3, 5 and (3, the rollers G, H, I and J are shown as ournalled at each end in pairs of oppositely disposed housing plates U and U, shown in detail in Figs. 5 and 6. These plates are mounted on a suitable foundation of masonry or the like T, to which they are secured by holding down bolts X. These plates U and U are provided with perforated. lugs it, through which pass the bolts V, V and V To facilitate assembling these bolts, guide lugs are provided on these plates. These plates are also provided with lugs u to receive the fastcning bolts V These plates are also held together by the shoulders to on the mill caps I T through which pass the bolts X. The bolts V and V pass through the lower mill caps Y and Y, and passing through these lower mill caps Y and Y are the heavy set screws Z and Z, which bear upon the bearing blocks 1 and l for the lower rollers. The upper bearing block 2 of the upper roller is pressed on by the hydraulic 3, which is shown diagrammatically in Fig 2 and in dotted lines in Fig. l. The hydraulic is intended to limit the pressure on the roller axle, and the construction of the hydraulic is well known in the art and is not a part of my present invention and will not be further described.

A similar hydraulic 5 presses on the upper bearing block 4 of the central roller and limits the pressure on the shaft of that roller in the usual well known way.

By having the four rollers mounted as shown, all in a single housing, the system of driving gears is also simplified. Such driving gears are shown at 6 in Fig. 3, and may be driven from the engine of the mill in any convenient way. As the mode of driving these gears is not a part of my present invention, it is neither illustrated nor described.

As an additional securing means for holding the housing plates on the foundation, bolts o may be used, and any end thrust of the housing plates may be taken care of by means of the wedges t and bolts 23, shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4:.

In Figs. 2 and 3, I have shown the housing plates with their bases horizontal, but in Fig. l, I have shown these plates set at an angle on a suitable foundation T; but except for the mill being correspondingly inclined, the construction is generally similar to that already described in connection with Figs. 2 and 3.

In Fig. 3 I have shown the lower rollers having the usual comparatively smooth surfaces and the upper roller corrugated, which construction is especially desirable where the cane stalks are not to be subjected to a previous crushing, as with a crusher.

When the crusher is omitted, the effect of the crusher may be in a large measure accomplished by the convoluted surface of the upper roller, as shown, and all three of the lower rollers, having the usual cylindrical surfaces, will act in the usual way.

- It will thus be seen that I provide a unit four-roller mill, which may be used with or without any crusher, and with or without any subsequent mills, and in which three separate crushings are given to the material.

By using two of such mills, it will be noted that six crushings are secured, which is the same number of crushings as is now ordinarily secured by three of the regular three roller mills; while with three of my fourroller mills, nine crushings are secured, which is one more than would be secured by four of the usual three-roller mills.

It will further be noted that by grouping the rollers as shown, a very compact arrangement is secured, requiring comparatively small floor space, and at the same time great simplicity and strength in the mill housing is provided for.

It will be obvious that various changes in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts might be made, which mightbe used without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I do not mean to limit the invention to such details, except as particularly pointed out in the claims. 7

- Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a three-roller mill and housing therefor, of an upper roller mounted in said housing above the upper roller of said mill, with means for simultaneously rotating all of said rollers, and means for directing the crushed solid material from the two upper rollers back between the upper roller of the mill and the two lower rollers, whereby three separate crushings are secured in a four-roller mill, substantially as and for the purposes described. i

2. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a three-roller mill and housing therefor, of an upper roller mounted in said housing above the upper roller of said mill, with means for simultaneously rotating all of said rollers, means for exerting a regulated pressure on the two upper rollers of said four-roller mill, and means for directing the crushed solid material from the two upper rollers back between the upper roller oi the mill and the two lower rollers, Whereby three separate crushings are secured in a four-roller mill, substantially as and for the purposes described.

JAMES FISHER. 

